As Penny Dreadful enters the back-half of its second season, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together, and they paint a dark picture for the heroes of the story. In the previous episode, Ethan (Josh Hartnett) described the heroes as being under siege, and said they need to bunch up and prepare […]
Penny Dreadful S2E5 “Above the Vaulted Sky” Review
Only Penny Dreadful could make a breather episode so intense and fraught with developments. “Above the Vaulted Sky” features some big developments, but they are developments that set up the second half of the season and trouble to come. But best of all, the episode gives two storylines — Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) and Victor […]
Penny Dreadful S2E4 “Evil Spirits in Heavenly Places” Review
After last week’s flashback detour into Victorian witchcraft, Penny Dreadful returns to the main action, and pushes the story forward in big ways. “Evil Spirits in Heavenly Places” does some bait and switch with painful narratives, and even manages a bit of levity, and yet still manages to pull off an incredibly suspenseful final act. […]
Penny Dreadful S2E3 “The Nightcomers” Review
For the second time in its so-far 11 aired episodes, Penny Dreadful takes a break from the main narrative to dive into the past of Eva Green’s Vanessa Ives. Last season gave us “Closer Than Sisters,” an ode to the epistlatory format of Dracula, while answering many of the questions the first four episodes. This […]
Double Consciousness: Better Than Nuts
Here’s a trick: Find a person you love and offer them something no one has ever seen, that no one will ever see again. Admire their astonishment. Then, produce a peanut. It could be anything in a shell—an oyster, say, but that’s messier to share. Crack it open, and each eat one of the nuts. […]
Eminently Reasonable: An Autopsy of a Flawed Critical Approach to Top of the Lake
Claire Napier is one of our favorite working critics, both because of her impeccable critical insight and her unflinching fearlessness. Which is why when Claire spoke out online about some serious issues she took with mainstream criticism of Jane Campion’s masterful miniseries Top of the Lake— specifically at revered pop culture institute The AV Club– we invited […]
Penny Dreadful S2E1 “Fresh Hell” Review
The occult. The hidden knowledge, the paranormal. John Logan’s Penny Dreadful immerses itself in the occult, and in its second season it finds itself asking if that knowledge should be learned. Are the secrets of the unknown more terrifying than ignorance? From the start, the season premiere “Fresh Hell” runs with the idea. Heroine Vanessa […]
The Rivers Run Silent in Quahog: An Experiment
When I was a teenager, I loved Family Guy. I’m not proud of this. In fact, as soon as the technology becomes available, I will erase the memory. Family Guy now has a well-worn reputation as one of the most sexist, racist, and generally stupid things on television. As I look back on my television […]
Products of Their Time: Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 3 is for True Animation Diehards
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc–the production studio responsible for creating the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical shorts that became such an iconic symbol of American animation and humor–closed its doors in 1963. The proliferation of television over the previous decade put the continued production of animated shorts into a dubious position and, after a Supreme […]
American Horror Story: Coven “Bitchcraft” Review
Nick Hanover: I blame you for my entrance into the world of American Horror Story, Dylan. If it hadn’t been for your review of the first season and that laundry list of absurdities that made up the major plot points of the first season, I never would have wound up going down this rabbit hole […]